EPA Drops Claim That PFOA and PFOS Were Phased Out in US
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has withdrawn its statement that the United States had phased out two of the most studied chemicals in the PFAS group, PFOA and PFOS The Guardian. The agency changed wording on its website that had said the two chemicals had been phased out.
The site had previously said the manufacture and import of PFOA had been phased out in the United States. It now says quantities of PFOA may be produced, imported and used by companies.
The revision followed a complaint filed by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, an organization representing public employees. The EPA is allowing Houston-based Inhance to produce containers from which PFOA has been found to leach. Inhance makes up to 200 million plastic containers a year for use across the U.S. economy.
EPA has said Inhance’s fluorination of plastic containers manufactures multiple PFAS, including PFOA, PFNA and PFDA. The agency has said nine PFAS are created by the fluorination process. In a December 1 notice, the agency ordered Inhance to stop producing PFAS by February 28, 2024. The agency issued two orders prohibiting Inhance from producing several PFAS Reuters.
Inhance sued the EPA in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit in December after the orders. The company states that containers fluorinated by Inhance Technologies meet all applicable PFAS regulations Inhance Technologies. It was sued in December 2022 over PFAS in plastic food containers, in a case that said the company continued to treat plastic containers and produce PFAS associated with health concerns including cancer.
The earlier phaseout language referred to voluntary action by industry. In 2006, eight major companies in the PFAS industry voluntarily agreed to phase out production of PFOA and PFOA-related chemicals by 2015. Domestic production and import of PFOA has been phased out in the United States by the companies participating in the 2010/2015 PFOA Stewardship Program EPA. A voluntary phaseout of PFOS by 3M between 2000 and 2002 covered 75 specific PFAS chemicals.
On April 10, 2024, EPA announced a final national drinking water regulation that includes standards for PFOA and PFOS. PFOA and PFOS are the most studied PFAS chemicals.
